Never Alone
by wecomerunning
Summary: What if Maeve never went to Isaac's that night? What if a certain someone still showed up to her caravan to tell her that he loved her? What if what he saw as the door swung open was completely unexpected?
1. Chapter 1

_PLOT: What if Maeve never went to Isaac's that night? What if a certain someone showed up to her caravan to tell her that he loved her? What if what he saw as the door swung open was completely unexpected?_

**I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR THIS SHOW. ALL RIGHTS GO TO NETFLIX AND THE WRITERS OF THE SHOW.**

_**Chapter One**_

Maeve was slumped on the couch in her caravan. Alone. Wrapped in her arms was a cushion that she sobbed so hard into that her lungs struggled to find any air. This was so out of character for her, but she didn't care. She was done being strong.

_What if this was all a mistake? _She thought. _What is going to happen to Elsie? _Just the image in her head of her little sister caused her sobbing to increase.

Darkness surrounded her physically and emotionally. The lights were off due to the fact that Maeve needed to use as little electricity as possible so the bill wouldn't be so high.

As for emotionally, she just thought of her pathetic life. Her dad, her brother, her mother, her sister. Gone. All gone. She had nothing. She didn't even have much proper furniture. She had to sell most of it over the years to pay bills. She didn't even have a tv or radio to fill the silence in the room. Her sobs were the only sound that echoed throughout her small caravan.

That was until a light knock on the door came through. Maeve sat up and wiped her eyes whilst attempting to quieten down the uncontrollable sobs that wracked her body. She listened out for another knock and surely there was another seconds later.

The brunette shakily stood up and unlocked the door to reveal someone unexpected. Otis Milburn. He had a smile on his face at first, but it immediately vanished as he saw the bloodshot eyes, mascara stained face of his, work colleague, crush and friend Maeve Wiley.

"Maeve?" He asked uncertainly, so shocked to see her so out of sorts that he had to clarify that it was actually her.

"Uh, hey. What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice raspy and broken. Although she was trying her hardest to sound normal, Otis could clearly see that she wasn't okay.

The boy knew that the last thing he should be telling her was the real reason he was here right now. Dropping a bombshell on her like that would be a terrible idea at the moment.

"I just wanted to see you. Ar-Are you alright?" He asked hesitantly.

Tears filled the girl's eyes, but she managed to keep them at bay as she bit down on her fingernail- something that Otis had seen her do many times.

"Uhm, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She told him, not fooling him nor herself.

"Can I come in?" He asked. After receiving a nod, the raven-haired boy entered the caravan.

He instantly noticed that the room was dark and cold, indicating that Maeve had in fact been in here upset with no heating or light. "It's a bit nippy. Do you want me to turn the heating on?"

"I don't have the money to use any electricity right now." She replied quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"That's okay. I just finished with two clients, so I owe you money anyways." He lied. He hadn't any scheduled clients today, but Maeve looked in quite a state therefore she probably wouldn't notice that she herself hadn't booked any. _Nobody deserves to live like this. _Otis thought.

He then took seventy pounds out of his wallet and handed it to her. Maeve looked reluctant to take the money.

"I promise, it's yours. I was there for ages, so I got paid way more than usual." Otis hated lying, but he knew that she wouldn't take the money unless he told a white lie or two.

The brunette took the money eventually and put it in her jacket pocket before going to the kitchen and flicking two switches. One was for the lights and the other was for the heating.

"It'll get warmer in about ten minutes or so." She explained, walking back to the couch and taking a seat. Otis followed and sat down next to her.

"Listen… I know you might not want to talk about it, but… what's the matter?" The raven-haired boy asked worriedly yet calmly.

Maeve went back to chewing her nail once again. "Nothing. I'm fine." She lied. Otis looked her in the eyes to show that he knew she was lying.

Maeve sniffled a little before sighing, "Mum's using again… so I called social services. They took Elsie."

Otis felt at a loss for words. _Hasn't she been through enough? _He thought. Somehow, he felt a sudden change in his attitude. In that moment his awkward persona had momentarily left him as he took her hand in his and raised her chin to look at him. Tears pooled her eyes and it looked as every ounce of her strength was doing its best to stop them from falling.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked carefully.

There was a loud silence for about a minute before a quiet voice spoke, "I asked one of the neighbours to look around when we were gone… they found drugs in my room- where she and Elsie had been sleeping. I called social services before I did the quiz show and when I got back, they were asking to search the place." Maeve ran a hand through her hair before she continued, "Mum started accusing the neighbours of calling them until I admitted that it was me. Then she lost it… she, uhm, started throwing Elsie's things out of the caravan, and she was shouting and pushing the social workers… and then me. She got all of her things and got into a car with Elsie… but… just before that she told me… that she'd never forgive me… ever." And that was when one single tear streamed down her face, "I just… thought I was doing what was best for Elsie… and now I probably won't see either of them again."

Otis couldn't believe what he was hearing. After everything her mother had done to her, she had the audacity to say that to her own daughter for looking out for her sister. If it weren't for the fact that Maeve was visibly upset, he could throw something right now.

Instead he tightened the grasp on her hand. "No matter what, do___not _blame yourself. You did what was right for your sister. Most people would have let it go and hope it wouldn't happen again, but you were brave enough to do the right thing. You have nothing to be sorry for, and for your mum to say that to you makes me truly believe that she doesn't deserve you. She never has and she never will. You're too good for her, Maeve."

Maeve looked up at him and just lost it. A quiet sob ripped through her body before more and more came. Otis wrapped his arms around her and let her cry it out. He let her wet his shirt with her tears. In this moment all that mattered was her. He didn't think about the reason he came here in the first place; he didn't think about needing to be home before 11pm, he didn't think about needing to call Eric to tell him how he got on today. She was his main priority now. She always has been, and honestly, he wouldn't like it any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR THIS SHOW. ALL RIGHTS GO TO NETFLIX AND THE WRITERS OF THE SHOW.**

_**Chapter Two**_

It was 12am before Otis was sure it was okay to leave for the night, and even then, he was still reluctant to go just in case.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" He asked as he stood on the step of the caravan.

Maeve managed to form a small smile for a moment, "Yeah. I'll be okay. I'm tired anyways so I'll probably just go to sleep."

"Well, you have my number if you need me, okay?" The raven-haired boy assured.

"Yeah. Thanks for tonight, Otis. It means more to me than you think." Maeve said softly-a tone that Otis still wasn't really familiar with when it came to her.

"That's okay. I'm just glad I came. I wouldn't want you to be upset alone. Everyone deserves someone to be there for them. You especially." Maeve's smile looked a little more real and genuine now. Even if it were only for a second, she didn't feel one hundred percent alone.

"Just know that no matter what you are not alone. You have Aimee, Eric and me. Especially me. I'm only one call away. I care about you. I _really _care about you, Maeve. Don't forget that." He added. It was almost as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Thanks, Otis. Same goes for you." The brunette said gratefully. "See you at school tomorrow?" Otis nodded before giving one more final farewell. He then left to go back home, praying that his mum wouldn't be too angry with him.

Otis entered his house as quietly as possible, trying not to make any noise so he wouldn't be caught back late. He had hoped that his Mum was in bed by now, but the lights that were on in the kitchen indicated to him that his hopes were too good to be true.

Sighing, Otis walked into the kitchen knowing he was about to have an earful. Sat at the table was Jean, his mother, with a cup of tea in her hands and a stern look on her face.

"And where have you been? You're an hour and fifteen minutes late!" She gave out, but the look of relief was etched across her face, showing that she had been worried about her son.

Otis was quick to apologise, "I'm so sorry Mum. A friend really needed me, and I couldn't just leave. I promise I won't break curfew again."

"Who was this friend and why was it so important that you needed to be late back?" She questioned.

"Listen, for me to tell you that it would be disrespectful. Let's just say that something happened, and they were upset. I was worried about them, so I was just staying until I knew it was okay to leave." Otis didn't want to reveal that he was in fact with a girl, because he knew his mother would question if they were having sex or something along the lines of that.

Jean sighed and then looked her son in the eyes. "Okay, I'll let you off this once, but don't let it happen again. I was just worried you had gone to a party on a school night."

"Again, I'm sorry. I won't be late again." Otis affirmed before heading upstairs to his room.

After closing his door, he took out his phone to text Maeve before he went to bed.

_Otis: hey, I just wanted to make sure you're okay._

He waited for a reply and got one roughly thirty seconds later,

_Maeve: yeah, I'm okay. Thanks again for today. _

_Otis: anytime. If you need to talk, I'm always around :)_

After sending the final message Otis got changed and went to sleep, thoughts of Maeve plaguing his mind in his dreams. He didn't mind though. He didn't mind a single bit.

It had been a night of thinking about the day that had just gone passed. Except this time there were no more tears left in her to cry. She just felt numb. Eventually sleep overcame her, which she knew she would be ever so grateful for since she definitely needed it.

When she woke up, Maeve's head throbbed a little from crying the night before. She got ready for school and just headed off, not bothering with breakfast or saying hello to any of the neighbours. If it weren't for the fact that she was dealing with everything that had happened, she would have been embarrassed to show her face around because of the scene of what her mother had caused.

On the way to school she smoked a cigarette but not because she wanted one, because she needed one. Cigarettes seemed to be a good stress reliever for Maeve, and it was fair to say that she had more stress in her life than the average seventeen year old.

Upon entering the school Maeve took a quick look at the bike racks to see if Otis' bicycle was there. Surely enough it was there dare she say 'parked' next to Eric's. At least she knew that the boys, especially Otis were already at school, so she felt slightly more relaxed-which she always did when he was around even though he was possibly the most awkward person she had Maeve had ever met.

As soon as she got into the school she went straight to her locker, hoping to find her timetable in there because she had forgotten what her first class was. Luckily for her inside the locker there was the piece of paper with each class time in it and she was able to get organised for class.

Suddenly the brunette's phone buzzed, and she opened the notification to see it was a message from Otis,

_Otis: hi! Are you at school? :)_

_Maeve: hey dickhead. I'm at my locker :p_

_Otis: ok, I'll be there in a sec_

_Maeve: why?_

_Otis: because? _

_Maeve: ok, dork. Fair enough. See you in a sec then :/_

_Otis: okey dokey :D_

Maeve rolled her eyes at the boy's childish text, but she had to admit she did quite like it. It was just such an Otis thing to say. 'okey dokey'. The brunette found herself chuckling lightly to herself.

Surely enough Otis was visible walking past a small crowd of people soon after he sent that text. Maeve could see Eric pushing through a crowd of younger students behind him, but the raven-haired boy didn't even look like he had noticed that his friend was trying to keep up.

"Hey." He greeted with a smile as he reached Maeve who was still at her locker, leaning against it.

"Hey pussy flaps." She greeted dryly, but they both knew that it was only meant to be humorous.

"Got any clients today?" Otis asked, looking over at Eric for half a second as he had just gotten there, out of breath from pushing through the crowd.

Maeve shook her head, "Nope. Not yet, but people usually come later in the day to discuss when they can talk to you."

By the look on Eric's face it didn't seem like he knew anything about yesterday, which she was grateful for because she had forgotten to tell Otis not to breathe a word about it.

"So, Maeve. I heard you've got a little sister. Elsa was it? When do I get to meet the little squirt?" Eric asked out of the blue.

Maeve felt her heart drop. _Great fucking time for you to ask, arsehole. _She thought. But at the same time, she couldn't blame him for anything. How was he supposed to know that she was gone? He didn't know anything, and she intended to keep it that way.

Otis was looking at her with sorrow etched on his face as well as awkwardness, but Maeve couldn't tell if that was just him being him or that he just didn't know how to help the situation. She put it down to both.

"It's _Elsie_. And Erin's gone with her to Bradford for the week. Thought she could use a little time adventuring. I wanted to stay here though, so here I am." She lied. Over the years Maeve had become accustomed to lying when it came to pretty much anything. She could lie through her teeth and even sometimes almost believe her own lies. It was a blessing and a curse, but a blessing in this case.

"Oh. Bradford's nice… I think. I've never been. Wait, who's Erin?" Eric rambled.

The brunette sighed, "Erin is my mum."

"Ohh, okay. Makes sense." The bell then rang, and the halls became chaos with students rushing to class. Eric spotted Adam amongst them and ran off to go say hi or something, leaving the two on their own once again.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think you'd want me to say anything." Otis said apologetically.

"Not your fault, Muppet. I'm glad you didn't say anything. I'd like to keep it that way." Maeve affirmed. Otis nodded in understanding.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

Maeve looked at the boy, for once feeling like she can be honest with someone about her feelings. She shrugged and then picked at the edge of her nail. "I turned out to be okay when she left the first time. I can be okay again."

Otis smiled sadly before gesturing her to walk beside him. Together they walked to class in silence, but the sounds of the students talking, shuffling, slamming lockers, etc was filling the void they were completely unaware of.

_**HEY GUYS! HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AS IT MOTIVATES ME TO WRITE MORE AND I JUST REALLY LIKE READING PEOPLES OPINIONS ON MY WORK. I'LL BE SURE TO HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER UP SOON. **_

_**GEORGIA 3**_


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